Noise coming from steering wheel.

[LukeD]

I have a 99 GAGT and its about 50000 miles. Now I bought it used but after I bought it (it was at about 32000) I noticed that the horn didn't always work, sometimes it did sometimes it didn't. Now it was a good thing I got the extended warrenty (got the car from a dealership for $10900 (nothing wrong with it except the afforementioned horn which I didnt figure out till several thousand miles later) and it was super clean, looked brand new inside and out. Anyway thats the history...

Now recently at about 50000 miles my alternator died. I took it in to the dealership and paid the $100 deductible and told them what was wrong with the car. I told them about the horn and the alternator.

They ended up finding out that it needed a new power steering pump and a new turn signal (don't know why cause it always worked for me) anyway so then when I got my car back after they "fixed it" the horn worked again, but then after I got it back I noticed that the power steering world go completely out sometimes. And that's not good. Sometimes it would be getting on the onramp sometimes doing a u-turn in a court, but it would go completely out. Also there would be this faint plastic grinding sound coming from my steering wheel as I turned it.

So of course I took it back in and told them the problem and the next day I called and they said they could find nothing wrong with it. It's just that I'm sure they didnt drive it but they just "looked" at it cause on the report it said "may need test drive with owner" or something like that.

Since then the power steering has gone out less and less till now it almost never happens, but there is still that faint little grinding sound there. I dont know what to do cause if I take it in again and they find something is wrong they will fix it for free but if they dont find anything it costs me like $100 for inspection or something (cause they don't want people wasting the dealership's time on paranoid peoples problems I guess.

So what should I do?

[71Z28RS]

It seems to me that the loss of power steering would be due to air in the lines. After they replaced the power steering pump, they should have bled the power steering system. They either didn't do this, or they didn't do it properly. As you have been driving it, it has gradually been able to work the air pockets out of the lines and it has been getting better. There is a good chance that this problem will go away completely on it's own as you drive it. Not positive, but that's what it sounds like. As for the plastic grinding sound, it sounds like they goofed something up while changing the turn signal switch/horn switch. Not sure if it's serious or not, but if it wasn't doing that before you took it in......

By the way, they probably replaced the turn signal switch because they accidently broke it while fixing the horn switch. As for the power steering pump, it sounds like they were looking for more $$$. Either a pump works or it doesn't. If it wasn't causing you any problems or making any bearing noises before you took it in, then it wasn't in need of replacement. They get paid for all warranty repairs, so they most likely decided that your pump was defective in order to make more money on your claim. If this is the case, I would consider finding myself a new dealership.

[LukeD]

yeah someone else told me it could be air in the lines too, they said you can bleed it yourself by jacking up the front, turning your car into the "on" position then turning your wheel all the way left then all the way right and do this like 20 times. Then turn your engine on and do the same thing. Does this sound right? If I do this do I need to have the cap off my power steering fluid? I bet you are right, the guy who fixed it was probably too lazy to do all that wheel turning. And as for the noise, I guess I'll have to get our family mechanic to look at it.

As kind of a side story, our family mechanic (friend) actually works at this dealership (he's an awesome mechanic, does great work, charges really fair) and we wanted him to do the work on it, so we took it in and requested him. Of course as thngs always happen, GM went on strike the next day. It was stuck in the shop for 2 weeks. It turns out our mechanic had a vacation and was gone during the time our car was worked on so we didn't get him. Anyway I think what happened was after the strike was over, the mechanics were hurting for money, so they did what they did. I think you are right about that. Thanks for the diagnosis.

Luke

[71Z28RS]

No problem.

Who ever told you of the procedure to bleed the lines was correct. That is the "official" way to bleed the system. I have heard many people say that it isn't necessary to lift the front end, but I haven't tried it that way. The cap should be off with someone watching to make sure that the reservior doesn't get low while the air pockets are removed while you're turning the wheels back and forth. Have that person re-fill it as needed while you're cycling the wheels. If there is still air in the system afterh you've gone through the process (there will be bubbles in the reservoir or it will be a lighter "churned" color), shut the car off for a few minutes and let it sit. Then do it again. Since you've been driving it for a while and have probably worked most of it out already, it shouldn't take long to purge the rest of the system. If you decide to try it without lifting the wheels, I wouldn't recommend going through the "engine off" cycle. That puts more strain on the system since the pump isn't running and all of the weight is on the wheels, and could cause the fluid to back up and overfill the reservior. One last thing, when you're turning the wheel back and forth, don't hold it in the locked (turned all the way) position for more than a second or two. I've heard that this puts extra load on the pump and can make it harder to bleed the lines. Good luck!